The Inception Experiments of Yusuf the Chemist
by Nightengale
Summary: The requirements for a perfect dream compound always cause problems. Dom wants inception and that means three layers, a mighty sedative, and the best compound created by man. Dominic Cobb wants the Mona Lisa of dreaming compounds.


The requirements for a perfect dream compound always cause problems for even the most seasoned of chemists. Dream compounds require a rather specific mix to make one's dream come out as a believable mirror of real life. Most of those who work with dreams, the extractors and the architects and the English assholes who think they're fancy, know little about what goes into putting them to sleep into the dream world of constructed towers and glowing lights. It's not just a glass of water and dash of sugar. One cannot start building without their mind placed in the proper sphere of sleep.

Now, compounds can be bought ready made. If you're in the legitimate dream market, if you want to stop at the place down on Main Street; if you're dreaming for the military, for the psychologists, for your own expensive pleasure, then you can buy the bland, factory made compounds. Those are just one version of the compound; one simple, standard, barely believable store made version of the dream compounds.

"Kid stuff." Yusuf shakes his head. "Bottom of the barrel compared to high shelf."

Arthur raises an eyebrow. "Right…"

"Hash to heroin."

Eames laughs. "And now you really are a drug don."

To make your dream real, to make it shine, to make it clutch at your chest, bend your eyes, and stab with a gleaming, shinning, knife of painful reality then you need a compound made by a chemist, a genuine chemist. You need something which has more parts than you can see or name or even imagine; you need a base for your dream building tailor made to walk you along the edge of losing your grip on reality.

Yusuf does this. Yusuf puts you under with liquid majesty. Yusuf makes compounds which give you pause to think: 'Would dreaming forever really be so bad in here?'

Ariadne stares. "I think I'm drooling, Yusuf."

Of course, this is one level of dreaming, maybe two, but Dominic Cobb… Dominic Cobb, the extractor extraordinaire, well, he wants three. Dom wants inception and that means three layers, a mighty sedative, and the best compound created by man. Dominic Cobb wants the Mona Lisa of dreaming compounds.

Yusuf sighs, "Certainly earning two shares."

So, the most specifically created, three dream layer compound it is but that, of course, means much testing and much trial and error.

**Experiment # 1; Compound 5:**

Yusuf marks the date and time on his clip board. Keeping things organized helps coordinate the best route to the perfect compound and with requirements such as inception it's going to take a while.

Arthur sits asleep in a chair within the semi triangle of Yusuf's three tables littered with bottles, glasses, papers, jars, eye droppers, and about a dozen and a half books. Arthur sleeps silently, under only for a minute now.

"All right." Yusuf puts the clip board down and walks a circle around Arthur.

He bends over to peer at Arthur's face; looks like a deep sleep, completely under, no traces of natural dreaming or REM sleep, completely induced and still. Yusuf crouches down and touches Arthur's wrist to check his pulse. Arthur's heart beats through his skin even and slow.

Yusuf smiles. "Pleasant dream, I hope."

He stands, leaning over to the table to his right to write a note on his clip board. Straightening up again, Yusuf reaches out and slaps Arthur hard across the cheek. Arthur jerks, grabbing onto the seat of his chair, and his eyes fly open. Yusuf jumps in surprise.

Arthur hisses slowly and rotates his jaw. "Ow."

Yusuf blinks rapidly. "Ah…"

Arthur touches his cheek then looks up at Yusuf. "Couldn't have held back a little?"

Yusuf frowns and marks a large red X next to compound number five.

**Experiment #3; Compound 8:**

Eames twitches and blinks slowly as he opens his eyes_. _Yusuf picks up his notebook and sits on the chair beside Eames, taking the needle from Eames' arm. Eames starts in surprise and stares at Yusuf.

"How was your dream?" Yusuf asks.

Eames frowns. "My what?"

Yusuf pauses. "Your dream."

"What dream?"

"The dream you were just in, Mr. Eames."

Eames leans away slightly as though he is nervous. "What did you just call me?"

Yusuf blinks slowly then turns back to the rest of the warehouse. "Arthur! Ariadne!" Yusuf calls. "Cobb!"

Eames jumps up from the chair and backs toward the wall as the others walk over. He holds up his hands and looks slightly panicked. "Wait… who are you people? Where am I?"

"What did you do?" Ariadne asks Yusuf.

Yusuf grimaces and looks down at his notebooks. "I was worried the third component might do this…"

"Do what?" Dom asks.

"Who are you all?" Eames snaps again. "And what is going on?"

"Oh god, has he lost his memory?" Ariadne groans.

Arthur holds up his hands soothingly and walks slowly toward Eames. "It's all right, Eames, you're fine."

"You back off." Eames hits the wall as he backs up another step and keeps his eyes fixed on Arthur.

Eames begins to breathe heavier and fight or flight flashes across his face as he clenches his fists.

"Shh," Arthur holds out his hands to the side like he's calming a frightening rabbit. "It's okay. We're your teammates, not enemies. I promise."

Eames watches Arthur cautiously but the tension in his body begins to ease. Behind Arthur, Ariadne and Dom cross their arms at the same time then glare at Yusuf. Yusuf stands and clicks his tongue.

"Hmm… amnesia." He writes the word in his notebook.

"Wait… Amnesia?" Eames stares.

"It should wear off." Yusuf looks up at Eames. "In a few hours at least."

"Hours?" Dom and Ariadne parrot.

Arthur takes Eames' hand. "Just come sit down, okay? Wait it out."

Eames blinks down at Arthur's hand on his then looks up with almost a leer. "You're rather gorgeous, aren't you? What's your name, again?"

Ariadne laughs once. "Oh, it's coming back, already."

**Experiment # 6; Compound 13:**

When Dom and Ariadne open their eyes they see layer one just as Ariadne designed it. The two of them stand in the center of a four way street stop, traffic lights on all sides and buildings towering up to the sky.

"Looks great." Dom points up at the buildings. "Definitely Los Angeles."

Ariadne shrugs once. "I'd rather have built New York or Chicago."

Dom shakes his head and chuckles. "No such luck for you but I'll let Fischer know."

"So sweet." Ariadne chuckles and skips once toward Dom.

The ground ripples where she lands. Dom and Ariadne fling out their arms reflexively and wobble with the ground's movement. They freeze in place until the street stops moving then stare up at each other with surprise. Dom whips his head around but keeps his feet motionless.

"What was that?" Ariadne gasps.

"Did you mean to do that?" Dom asks.

"No!"

Dom slowly puts his arms down then glances up at the buildings and down each street as if searching for the source of the apparent earthquake. Ariadne stares at the ground and takes a cautious step forward. Where her foot lands on supposed concrete a slight indentation appears in the ground. It resembles pressing down a pillow or foam. Ariadne steps again then again, watching her feet imprint in the street. She jumps up about two inches and the ground ripples again all around them.

Ariadne laughs. "It's like soft rubber."

Dom frowns and crosses his arms. "You can't make the ground rubber."

Ariadne huffs. "I told you, I didn't. I made concrete." She points down. "Looks just like concrete until you move."

"Well, it's not acting like concrete."

Ariadne crouches down to touch the street. "Feels like concrete too."

Dom rubs his chin. "Something misconnecting in-between your brain and the actual creation maybe?"

Ariadne shrugs and bounces on her heels making the ground shiver. "You're the veteran dreamer, not me." Ariadne hops again from one foot to the other, the street around them quivering with waves. She giggles. "It's like a moon bounce!"

Dom groans, realization clicking. "Yusuf!"

**Experiment #9; Compound 19:**

When Arthur opens his eyes again after two minutes of dreaming, Yusuf stands up and walks over to the chair, pen in hand.

"Dream normal?"

Arthur nods and yawns. "Uh huh."

Yusuf taps the pen against the side of his glasses. "Feeling anything, residual dream traces?"

Arthur shakes his head and closes his eyes. "No."

"Good." Yusuf hops over a wire and grabs the pad of paper off his one desk. "No side effects." He writes down a note then turns back to Arthur.

Arthur is curled up on his side, head resting on his arm. Yusuf pauses, pen hovering just above the pad. Arthur still has the tube connected to the PASIV device in his one wrist. Yusuf leans over and removes it, searching Arthur's face as he bends over.

"Arthur?"

Eames walks by behind Yusuf carrying a stack of papers. He glances at the scene then stops, eyes trained on Yusuf hunched over Arthur. "Did you kill him this time?"

Yusuf shoots Eames a glare then returns to at the point man. "Arthur?"

"Hmm?" Arthur murmurs quietly.

"Are you all right?"

"Mmhmm." He yawns again and folds his other wrist under his head. "Yeah… Sleepy."

"You were just dreaming…"

"Mmhmm…"

Yusuf shakes Arthur's shoulder. He wobbles limply but just snuggles his face further into the crook of his arms. Yusuf stands up straight and puts his pad down. Eames places his stack of papers on Yusuf's chair and stands beside him.

"Arthur?" Eames tries, foot tapping Arthur's lawn chair.

Arthur makes a quiet, unintelligible noise but does not move.

"Arthur!" Eames barks and kicks the chair, making it bounce.

Arthur only rolls over, head rested on his other arm now and eyes still closed. Yusuf and Eames flick their eyes to each other then back to Arthur as he folds his legs up toward his chest. Eames chuckles and claps Yusuf on the shoulder.

"Well, I certainly think you can mark off that your sedative works."

Yusuf sighs and rubs his forehead. "It would be helpful to wake up again."

"Aw," Eames shakes Yusuf's shoulder and points toward Arthur, "but he does look so precious like that."

Arthur starts to snore.

**Experiment #13; Compound 24:**

The time runs out after five minutes from the PASIV perched on Yusuf's desk attached to Dom and Saito lying in lawn chairs. The two men breathe in deeply as consciousness slowly returns.

"What experiment number was this now?" Ariadne asks from her table where she sits building her model of the second layer. "A hundred?"

Yusuf raises an eyebrow at her then swivels his chair around to check on Dom and Saito. Dom sits up slowly. He shakes his head once, rubs his fingers over his eyes, then blinks rapidly.

"I thought…" Saito blinks and touches the side of his head.

Dom reaches out into the air, fingers grasping. Saito turns his head left then right slowly. Yusuf watches them silently, brow furrowing.

"Yusuf?" Dom asks.

"Yes?"

"Where are you?"

Arthur and Eames turn around at the worried tone of Dom's voice and Ariadne perks up in her chair. Yusuf glances at the others then rises so he's standing directly in front of the two parallel lawn chairs.

"In front of you."

Dom and Saito turn their heads in the direction of Yusuf's voice, eyes not quite on him. Saito sits up and widens his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asks, handing off the paper in his hand to Eames.

"It seems I cannot see," Saito supplies.

"Me either." Dom waves his hand in the air. "It's all white."

The other four team members grimace in matching expressions of displeasure. Arthur walks around the tables until he crouches down in front of Dom. He waves his hand in front of Dom's face then Saito's. Saito tilts his head slightly like he can feel Arthur is there.

"Is someone waving their hand in my face?" Saito asks.

Arthur stops suddenly then clears his throat and stands up. "No."

Eames chuckles then sits down on a stool beside Ariadne. "Blind paying the blind?"

She snorts.

"I heard that!" Dom bites, blinking his eyes hard. "And I still can't see."

"Hmm, perhaps the sedative affected the eyes specifically." Yusuf picks up a notebook from one desk, flipping through the pages. "Keeping your eyes asleep…"

"That makes sense," Ariadne says, leaning back in her chair.

Eames raises both eyebrows. "It does? Then why is Cobb seeing white and not black?"

Ariadne glares at Eames.

"I should hope you can reverse this," Saito grumbles in Yusuf's general direction, hands fumbling on the edge of the lawn chair.

Yusuf frowns and shrugs but says nothing, face tight. Dom and Saito both tense up, waiting. Arthur glances back at Ariadne and Eames. They shake their heads. Dom flips his head around in Yusuf's general direction at the deepening silence.

"Yusuf? You can fix this?"

Yusuf makes a noncommittal noise.

"Quite the work place hazard," Eames taps his head, "dreaming blindness."

Arthur shoots Eames a glare and Ariadne smacks his chest. He pretends to look chastised, pouting out a lip.

"I'm sure…" Yusuf turns over a page. "There must be…"

"Must be?" Saito asks, his face growing increasingly agitated.

"I am not going blind on top of everything else!" Dom growls.

"You never said this could be a side effect!" Saito snaps as well.

Yusuf makes a noise like nauseated laughter and picks up one glass jar on his desk, holding it up to the light. Ariadne looks at Eames, who looks at Arthur, who looks at Ariadne. Ariadne appears to be fighting laughter.

"Why is no one talking?" Dom plants his feet on the floor and starts to stand up. "I can find you, Yusuf, and strangle you."

"I should get popcorn…" Eames mutters, crossing his arms with a bemused look.

Then suddenly Dom and Saito gasp at the same time and squint. Dom falls back into the chair and flicks his head sharply. Saito puts a hand over his eyes and groans.

"Christ…" Dom holds up his hand toward the light coming from the windows.

The other four lean forward unconsciously.

"That's bright," Dom breathes slowly, "wow, that's bright."

Saito tries to open his eyes, squinting.

"So, you can see again?" Yusuf asks.

Dom and Saito both turn their eyes toward him, identical looks of annoyance.

Yusuf grins and marks an X in his notebook. "Good, very good, no harm!"

Saito stands up swiftly and turns to Yusuf, looking right at him. He adjusts his coat primly.

"I would fire you if I thought we could find someone better." Then he whips around Yusuf and stalks away.

Eames and Ariadne clap hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter. Arthur only shakes his head at Yusuf's gob smacked expression.

**Experiment #20; Compound 30:**

Yusuf and Ariadne stare at Arthur's shoulder. He peers out of the corner of his eye and remains still. Yusuf crosses his arms and shakes his head. Arthur clenches his teeth, shooting a glare at Ariadne.

"Don't look at me." Ariadne waves her hands. "This is supposed to be a hotel. I didn't do it."

"I think perhaps the compound is reinterpreting your directions," Yusuf says.

"I built hotel." She points at the blue, wet walls surrounding them, seaweed in clumps around their feet. "Not under sea adventure."

Yusuf raises a finger thoughtfully, "Switching parts of your brain messages perhaps?"

Arthur gazes back at his shoulder.

Ariadne gasps. "Oh! I was thinking about lunch before we went under."

Yusuf laughs and wags his finger. "Yes, the added chemical could be latching on to the most dominant feeling in your mind as opposed to your will."

"Emphasizing emotion over thought or…"

"Focusing on the simple…"

"Basic drive of nature!"

Ariadne and Yusuf grin at each like mad scientists.

Arthur clears his throat and Ariadne and Yusuf spin their heads around toward him as if they'd forgotten he was there. Arthur points to the creature perched on him with a disdainful eyebrow raise.

"So, that really is a squid on my shoulder?"

**Experiment #24; Compound 37:**

The clock on the PASIV device reaches five, four, three, two, one, time out. Eames and Yusuf, however, do not open their eyes. Ariadne glances at Arthur and makes a face. They both look down at the PASIV then back to Eames and Yusuf lying in the lawn chairs in front of them. Neither sleeping man moves. Ariadne bends over to peer at the clock. Arthur looks at his watch as Ariadne stands up straight again.

"Should we slap them or something?" Ariadne asks.

Arthur breathes out of his nose slowly. "I think Yusuf has that down as ineffective by now."

"They should be walking up with the time out though."

Arthur gives her a 'duh' look and she scoffs, shaking her head. The gaze at each other again then back to the still figures. They do not stir as Arthur and Ariadne stare.

"This can't be good." Ariadne looks at Arthur out of the corner of her eye. "Should we knock –"

Before she finishes her sentence, Eames and Yusuf suddenly jolt up in their chairs, eyes flying open. Arthur and Ariadne both take steps back in surprise. Yusuf spasms once, hand over his mouth, then he leaps from his seat and grabs the trashcan beside the nearest desk.

Ariadne steps forward again. "Yusuf, are you…."

Yusuf throws up into the bin. Still in his chair Eames bends in half, hands cradling his head, and groans loudly.

"Oh my god… Yusuf…"

Yusuf makes a pained noise, leaning back on his haunches. He turns for a moment as if to say something but as he opens his mouth he twists back around to heave into the trashcan. Eames breathes heavily and his fingers tighten against his head, gripping his hair.

"Oh god, it's like the worst hangover ever."

Arthur and Ariadne glance surreptitiously at each other.

Yusuf shakes, arms cradling the metal trashcan. "Definitely not… not one to…"

Yusuf groans loudly and retches again. Eames stomps one foot on the floor and bites his finger, his other hand covering his eyes. Arthur steps forward hesitantly, hands out as if in comfort, but he seems unsure what to do.

"I will murder you, Yusuf," Eames says, pulling his other hand back up to his eyes, "Bloody Christ, its twelve hangovers… fuck…"

"Wow…" Ariadne mutters, biting her nail.

"I must have added…" Yusuf puts a fist against his mouth and gasps. He breathes in slowly then drops his hand. "Must have added too much… oh… of the…. Oh my…" Yusuf groans and dips his face back into the trashcan.

"Added to much hell!" Eames shouts then groans at his own noise. "My head… oh… bloody… oh fucking hell…"

Eames pitches back and lies flat on the lawn chair again with his knees up and the heels of his hands digging into his eyes. Eames tries to breathe slowly then whimpers pathetically. Yusuf leans out of the trashcan and slides down to the left until he lies on the floor on his side, forehead turned against the cool floor.

Arthur clears his throat. "So, not such a good dream, I take it?"

Yusuf and Eames groan painfully in reply.

**Experiment #29; Compound 40:**

Dom blinks then squints at the room around them. Arthur rotates 360 degrees. The two men turn to each other then back to the room. A leather couch sits by the wall, two windows side by side with lace curtains, three boring landscape paintings, carpet, one coffee table, and one door behind them with a round handle.

"No way…" Arthur mutters and touches the wall uncertainly.

Dom scrunches up his face and makes a 'tut tut' noise. He paces around the room, checking in corners and sticks his nose close up to the paintings. He pivots in place to gaze at Arthur again and raises his eyebrows.

"Don't." Arthur points at Dom then crosses his arms.

Dom shrugs. "Eames would say 'lack of imagination.'"

"I don't dream in black and white!" Arthur snaps.

**Experiment #32; Compound 45:**

Ariadne breathes in slowly, pulling at the roots of the dream world around her. She can feel the Parisian-esque city in her mind, the shapes of the buildings, the rivers, the people, even the food. Yet around her everything is mixed up. The road they stand on starts out the proper width then narrows for no reason into one lane before bursting out further on in the distance like a highway, part cobblestone, part concrete. The buildings vary wildly in height, some tall and thin like trees, some so short they only reach Ariadne's knees. Windows shaped like triangles and circles and hexagons dot every building. One restaurant drips with water in the rain and a car beside them is see-through.

Ariadne bites her lip. "Um…"

"Wow." Eames blinks and puts his hands on his hips. "It's like Dali in here."

Dom clears his throat. "I'm assuming this isn't like the first time, 'messing with physics?'"

Ariadne shakes her head. "I'm not trying to get stabbed again."

"Been taking trips to the Louvre without me?" Eames asks.

Ariadne snorts with disbelief and waves her hands. "Apparently I brought it to you."

Dom walks down the street and picks up a book out of a fruit stand. He flips through the pages and a slice of apple falls out. Eames sputters a laugh.

"Yusuf!" Dom grumbles as though the man can hear him and tosses the book into a pineapple.

"Hold on." Ariadne holds up a hand. "Maybe it'll pass."

She turns to look at the building beside them, door half blue and half red with the door knob in the middle. She tilts her head then suddenly the building yanks itself up into the air. Eames and Dom jump back in surprise. Then the building crashes back down again upside down.

Ariadne bursts out a laugh. "Oh my god, it's like a dog doing tricks!"

"Any treats in your pocket?" Eames smacks Ariadne's arm encouragingly. "Do it again."

"I didn't do it the first time!"

Dom groans loudly, "Stop it."

"Oh, come on," Eames twirls his finger, "Roll over."

Ariadne giggles. "Fetch a car?"

Then the world fades. Ariadne and Eames wake up laughing and clap their hands in Yusuf's direction. Yusuf crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at the two of them like they have gone insane.

"Yes?" he asks.

Dom sits up and points at Yusuf. "No more surrealism!"

Yusuf's mouth drops open in confusion while Ariadne and Eames howl with laughter. Yusuf reaches to the side and marks an X in his book.

**Experiment #37; Compound 51:**

Arthur and Ariadne breathe in together when they open their eyes from their dream. Arthur sits up, Ariadne following a moment later. Yusuf stands up from his chair, taking his glasses off. The two dreamers stay still for 3.4 seconds before leaping up.

"What are…" Yusuf starts.

Ariadne jumps up onto her lawn chair and launches herself at Yusuf at the same time as Arthur starts to run across the loft. Ariadne wraps her legs around Yusuf's middle, arms around his shoulders, and starts kissing him with abandon.

Standing in front of a table a few feet away, Saito drops the papers in his hand and Dom's mouth falls open.

"Ariadne!" Yusuf gasps through the assault and tries to pull her off. "Stop!"

Eames glances up at Yusuf's yell from where he stands by the boards then sees Arthur coming at him. The photos in his hands slip to the floor in surprise.

Eames holds up his hands in defense. "Wait, Arthur, no!"

Arthur barrels into Eames, knocking him to the floor and pinning him down.

"Fuck! Arth –"

Before Eames can say more Arthur kisses him, biting Eames' lips and ripping a button off the top of Eames' shirt.

"What the…" Dom mutters quietly.

Saito blinks slowly and turns his head back and forth between both frenzied encounters as if unsure which demands his attention more. He touches Dom's forearm and looks at the extractor in confusion. Dom shakes his head.

"Ariadne!" Yusuf staggers backward, nearly falling with the woman's weight on him. "Ariadne…" She pulls at his hair and he hisses. "I'm married! Stop! Ariadne!"

"Wife's not here now!" Ariadne says quickly and grins with what can only be described as 'lustful evil.'

She grips Yusuf's face and kisses his lips, bites at his neck, and squeezes her legs tighter around him. Yusuf tires to pull his head away from her grasp and shoots a panicked look at Dom. Dom crosses his arms and the corner of his mouth quirks slightly.

"Ow, Arthur!" On the floor Eames tries to grab Arthur's roving hands. "Arthur… that hurt – oomph!"

Arthur kisses Eames' words away, sucking at his lips, as his fingers move quickly and deliberately through the buttons of Eames' shirt. Eames grabs Arthur's hands and attempts to sit up. Arthur whips his hands out of Eames' hold and slams Eames back down to the floor by his shoulders making the man yelp.

Arthur hunches low, lips just over Eames', "You are not going anywhere."

Eames blinks. "Uh… nnhmm…"

Yusuf finally succumbs to the off balance game of Ariadne on his chest and falls into his chair, Ariadne still on top of him. She shifts almost instantly so she's kneeling over his legs and pushes him back against the chair with her lips, hands reaching under his shirt. Yusuf tries to use his more solid seated position to push her back off his lap but she hooks her ankles around the chair arms and refuses to be moved.

"Just stop fighting!" She insists, pulling at his vest. "Clothes, off!"

"Dom, help!" Yusuf cries.

"Should we…" Saito begins.

Dom clears his throat. "I'm not sure it's safe."

"Arthur." Eames turns his head so he can speak and Arthur starts in on Eames' neck. "Arthur – ow – calm down, you're high." He tries to pull Arthur's hands away but Arthur only shoves down with his hips against Eames making him whimper.

"Oh, yes." Arthur grabs Eames chin and turns his head back, kissing Eames' lips and pushing past with his tongue. "Yes, I am."

Eames groans.

"Dom!" Yusuf gasps again and Ariadne bites the edge of his jaw. "Do something!"

Saito and Dom look at each other then move. As soon as they round the edge of the table, Arthur and Ariadne both abruptly halt where they are. No one budges for a long, awkward moment until Ariadne giggles, voice high and slightly manic.

"Hi…" She slowly untangles herself from Yusuf's hair and clothes. "Hi… Yusuf… hi."

Yusuf stares at her. Ariadne clears her throat and stands up out of his lap.

"Oh my god…" Arthur blinks down at Eames and sits up.

Eames stares up at Arthur, lips bright red with a hickey starting to blossom on his neck. Arthur's eyes widen as he looks at his handiwork. He puts a hand over his mouth and waves the other apologetically.

"Um… I'm sorry." Arthur buttons up Eames' shirt and holds up his hands. "Really sorry."

Eames checks his shirt, two buttons missing now, and runs a hand through his hair to tame it back. "Quite all right, Arthur. If I had to pick someone to sexually assault me, you would be the top of the list."

Arthur makes a choking noise in the back of his throat.

"Oh my god." Ariadne turns away from Yusuf and throws her hands over her face. "Oh my god…"

"A lot of help you were!" Arthur shouts over at Dom and Saito as he stands up off of Eames.

"Well," Dom shrugs, "the effects might have been catching or one of you might have decided to attack us too. It was self preservation."

Ariadne makes a high pitched squeaking noise and shakes her head. Yusuf sits up straighter in his chair and rearranges his disheveled clothing. On the floor Eames lifts himself to a sitting position and peers up at Arthur. Arthur holds out his hand, which Eames takes, and Arthur pulls the other man up. Eames smirks and kisses Arthur's cheek.

"I think," Saito starts, looking at Yusuf, "I will not be helping you test any more compounds."

Yusuf frowns then rips the top page off his clip board and crumples it into a ball.

**Experiment #42; Compound 60:**

The entire team stand together in the middle of the street on layer one. They stare at each other for a long moment as if waiting. Yusuf tilts his head and waves out an arm like a host inviting guests in. Incredulous looks pass slowly until Ariadne suddenly hops up once into the air and lands again. Dom glances at her and they both look down.

"Concrete!" Ariadne smiles.

Arthur cocks an eyebrow at Dom and points to the red tie around his neck. Dom smiles and nods briskly.

Eames steps over to Saito and waves his hand in front of Saito's eyes. Saito smacks his hand away and scowls. Eames laughs and pats Saito on the chest. Saito sighs heavily but the corner of his mouth twitches up slightly.

"Eames?" Ariadne asks.

Eames looks over at her. "Yes?"

She shrugs. "Just checking."

Eames wiggles his fingers. "Oooo, you're so funny."

"How's your stomach, Yusuf?" Arthur asks.

Yusuf rolls his eyes. "Planning on jumping on Eames again?" he counters.

Arthur colors and whips his head around to very seriously inspect the sky. Eames snickers loudly.

Everyone paces for a few more minutes, up the street, touching telephone poles, breathing the air. Smiles start to form on six faces.

"I think this is it," Dom says quietly.

Solid ground, buildings all the correct sizes pointing up, beautiful washes of red, blue, even gold across Eames' jacket; Everything working, everyone standing, no confusion, a real and solid world around six completely healthy and perfect people.

Yusuf grins widely and clasps his hands together. "Yes, Mr. Cobb, yes I think so."

When the time runs out and everyone wakes up, eyes intact, memories in place, and no sudden spurts of sex drives, Yusuf stands first, walks to his desk and makes a large red circle around the perfect compound for inception. Success.


End file.
